I was brought up by a millionaire family. I spent my early years burning tramps and pissing on the homeless. Daddy pumped millions into the Tory Party and I was taught to look down on the oiks below. Mummy made cakes for the local Tory club and we always entertined the local gentry in our grounds. In fact we used to call the "workers" the "the underlings". I was always taught Tory =Good Labour=Dirty.Anyway, at my fee paying school I asked the headmaster why should we get all the power due to me being lucky that I spouted out of my fathers rather rich totem. He said "any more of that and I will get you beasted". It was the final straw. I haven't voted Tory since.
See, you're not a proper Tory.
I get a real kick out of playing chess with the homeless and tramps as chess pieces.
You are just a wet....real Tories burn them.
Wrong, 'pouter.
TSE is providing a jobs guarantee for the long term employed.
Perhaps you misunderstood what he meant by pawn?
No yellow boxes Mr Pole ?
This morning's grim economic reading seems to be passing without comment.
I was brought up by a millionaire family. I spent my early years burning tramps and pissing on the homeless. Daddy pumped millions into the Tory Party and I was taught to look down on the oiks below. Mummy made cakes for the local Tory club and we always entertined the local gentry in our grounds. In fact we used to call the "workers" the "the underlings". I was always taught Tory =Good Labour=Dirty.Anyway, at my fee paying school I asked the headmaster why should we get all the power due to me being lucky that I spouted out of my fathers rather rich totem. He said "any more of that and I will get you beasted". It was the final straw. I haven't voted Tory since.
See, you're not a proper Tory.
I get a real kick out of playing chess with the homeless and tramps as chess pieces.
You are just a wet....real Tories burn them.
We're not savages... hunting them with dogs on the other hand...
"The snag is if isam's friends don't have an upmarket to move to and aren't able to get decent training to help them. They then have a very understandable grumble."
What about the next generation, Nick? What about the youngsters just trying to get started? ISAM's friends may be able to move up market but what about their son's and daughters who aren't qualified and can't get training posts because its easier for companies to import Labour than train new people? Do those youngster's have an understandable grumble? If so who in the political world is on their side and going to do anything about it?
I was brought up by a millionaire family. I spent my early years burning tramps and pissing on the homeless. Daddy pumped millions into the Tory Party and I was taught to look down on the oiks below. Mummy made cakes for the local Tory club and we always entertined the local gentry in our grounds. In fact we used to call the "workers" the "the underlings". I was always taught Tory =Good Labour=Dirty.Anyway, at my fee paying school I asked the headmaster why should we get all the power due to me being lucky that I spouted out of my fathers rather rich totem. He said "any more of that and I will get you beasted". It was the final straw. I haven't voted Tory since.
The rest of the world has grown up, a development that sadly passed you by.
I was brought up by a millionaire family. I spent my early years burning tramps and pissing on the homeless. Daddy pumped millions into the Tory Party and I was taught to look down on the oiks below. Mummy made cakes for the local Tory club and we always entertined the local gentry in our grounds. In fact we used to call the "workers" the "the underlings". I was always taught Tory =Good Labour=Dirty.Anyway, at my fee paying school I asked the headmaster why should we get all the power due to me being lucky that I spouted out of my fathers rather rich totem. He said "any more of that and I will get you beasted". It was the final straw. I haven't voted Tory since.
And that's the attitude that drives the working class vote away from Labour
Oh FFS, where is your sense of humour.
Its right here, but your unfunny attempts at jokes pass it by on a daily basis
Can anyone help? For my day job, I want to direct people interested in our animal welfare) issue to an overview of the lists for all the parties in their area, ideally with an email address so they can write to the lead candidate or even all the candidates of the people they're considering supporting and ask them for their views on animal issues.
All I can find is http://www.europarl.org.uk/en/european_elections/candidates2014.html - but this directs people party by party (which means voters needs to make five or more clicks to explore all the options) and some of the links are a bit mysterious - e.g. the Conservative Party list is in .ashx format, which is fine for web developers but likely to baffle the average voter, and the UKIP link doesn't work at all. What I want is a site where I can say "My postcode is ... . Who are my candidates and how can I contact them?"
There's https://www.writetothem.com/ for incumbents, but they don't seem to have candidates. I'm guessing the problem is that nobody is providing a machine-readable data feed of candidate information for guys like them (and me, but that's for a different purpose) to pull from. It feels like the kind of thing the Electoral Commission should be doing.
I was brought up by a millionaire family. I spent my early years burning tramps and pissing on the homeless. Daddy pumped millions into the Tory Party and I was taught to look down on the oiks below. Mummy made cakes for the local Tory club and we always entertined the local gentry in our grounds. In fact we used to call the "workers" the "the underlings". I was always taught Tory =Good Labour=Dirty.Anyway, at my fee paying school I asked the headmaster why should we get all the power due to me being lucky that I spouted out of my fathers rather rich totem. He said "any more of that and I will get you beasted". It was the final straw. I haven't voted Tory since.
You personally pissed on the homeless? A bit middle class, that - we got the gamekeepers to piss on them.
If we ran out of homeless we evicted a few dozen tenants.
I was brought up by a millionaire family. I spent my early years burning tramps and pissing on the homeless. Daddy pumped millions into the Tory Party and I was taught to look down on the oiks below. Mummy made cakes for the local Tory club and we always entertined the local gentry in our grounds. In fact we used to call the "workers" the "the underlings". I was always taught Tory =Good Labour=Dirty.Anyway, at my fee paying school I asked the headmaster why should we get all the power due to me being lucky that I spouted out of my fathers rather rich totem. He said "any more of that and I will get you beasted". It was the final straw. I haven't voted Tory since.
You personally pissed on the homeless? A bit middle class, that - we got the gamekeepers to piss on them.
If we ran out of homeless we evicted a few dozen tenants.
I was brought up by a millionaire family. I spent my early years burning tramps and pissing on the homeless. Daddy pumped millions into the Tory Party and I was taught to look down on the oiks below. Mummy made cakes for the local Tory club and we always entertined the local gentry in our grounds. In fact we used to call the "workers" the "the underlings". I was always taught Tory =Good Labour=Dirty.Anyway, at my fee paying school I asked the headmaster why should we get all the power due to me being lucky that I spouted out of my fathers rather rich totem. He said "any more of that and I will get you beasted". It was the final straw. I haven't voted Tory since.
And that's the attitude that drives the working class vote away from Labour
Oh FFS, where is your sense of humour.
Its right here, but your unfunny attempts at jokes pass it by on a daily basis
I am always here for you isam.
Im not a fan sorry
Mind you humour is subjective, and I am more than happy to laugh at the same joke for a long while. For instance I was close to tears when I discovered @big_ben_clock on twitter last night
I was brought up by a millionaire family. I spent my early years burning tramps and pissing on the homeless. Daddy pumped millions into the Tory Party and I was taught to look down on the oiks below. Mummy made cakes for the local Tory club and we always entertined the local gentry in our grounds. In fact we used to call the "workers" the "the underlings". I was always taught Tory =Good Labour=Dirty.Anyway, at my fee paying school I asked the headmaster why should we get all the power due to me being lucky that I spouted out of my fathers rather rich totem. He said "any more of that and I will get you beasted". It was the final straw. I haven't voted Tory since.
See, you're not a proper Tory.
I get a real kick out of playing chess with the homeless and tramps as chess pieces.
You are just a wet....real Tories burn them.
We're not savages... hunting them with dogs on the other hand...
You cannot hunt them no more with dogs and Dave said he won't repeal it. You cand drag a tramp behind a horse and let the dogs, and everyone else, pick up the scent.
It beggars belief that the SNP didn't think about all these issues in advance.
Something else the SNP has not thought through - or filed under "wishful thinking" - and I suspect this will affect pension plans both north and south of the border:
It beggars belief that the SNP didn't think about all these issues in advance.
Something else the SNP has not thought through - or filed under "wishful thinking" - and I suspect this will affect pension plans both north and south of the border:
What would happen in practice is that all those pension schemes would be divided into two: Scottish schemes and rUK schemes. This of course would need a lot of advice from pension lawyers, and those law firms with lots of pension lawyers both north and south of the border could expect to be swamped with an avalanche of work.
This would be an absolutely appalling consequence, and in no way could I encourage Scots to vote for independence on the back of that.
"The snag is if isam's friends don't have an upmarket to move to and aren't able to get decent training to help them. They then have a very understandable grumble."
What about the next generation, Nick? What about the youngsters just trying to get started? ISAM's friends may be able to move up market but what about their son's and daughters who aren't qualified and can't get training posts because its easier for companies to import Labour than train new people? Do those youngster's have an understandable grumble? If so who in the political world is on their side and going to do anything about it?
The same applies, only more so - if we're not training teenagers to do competitive work now, God help them in 30 years. Encouraging today's teenagers to become low-end electricians is not doing them a favour.
Ages ago when Labour was a lot more left-wing than now, there was a proposal for a training levy. All companies over a certain size would be asked to either (a) offer training courses leading to a qualification for their own staff and a reasonable number of outsiders who would pay them for the training or (b) pay a levy to enable their staff to take up training at one of the companies under (a). I thought it was a good idea at the time, and still do, though as usual there would be practical issues. It would provide a good variety of courses and would prevent companies with no interest in training their people from free-riding off the ones that do.
The other part of the answer is to provide some work experience, which is where the jobs guarantee comes in.
I was brought up by a millionaire family. I spent my early years burning tramps and pissing on the homeless. Daddy pumped millions into the Tory Party and I was taught to look down on the oiks below. Mummy made cakes for the local Tory club and we always entertined the local gentry in our grounds. In fact we used to call the "workers" the "the underlings". I was always taught Tory =Good Labour=Dirty.Anyway, at my fee paying school I asked the headmaster why should we get all the power due to me being lucky that I spouted out of my fathers rather rich totem. He said "any more of that and I will get you beasted". It was the final straw. I haven't voted Tory since.
'pouter, you have the tone entirely wrong. This is how a true Tory would recount his life story:
"I was fortunate to have had a happy and comfortable childhood. We were taught from an early age not to take money and privilege for granted."
"My father was a successful undertaker in the city. Dad's business, for example, helped the local council provide free services to families of the poor and needy. Mum was also a baker, but only from home and the net profits she made were always gift aided to charity."
"Dad and Mum were committed to the community."
"Dad became a Labour councillor shortly before getting planning permission to convert the old deer park into a mixed industrial and residential housing estate."
"If I and my sister hadn't been diagnosed at an early age with special needs, we would almost certainly have been sent to the local comprehensive. Being at a boarding school was very difficult as it meant being away from home for two thirds of the year. The teachers were very odd but were always there to provide a helpful hand. The friends I made at school have remained with me throughout my life and I feel I can always call on them for help in difficult or challenging times."
"Dad left Labour after his application to convert the stables into affordable housing was rejected by the planning committee."
"It was the final straw. The whole family have voted Tory since and have never looked back."
It beggars belief that the SNP didn't think about all these issues in advance.
Something else the SNP has not thought through - or filed under "wishful thinking" - and I suspect this will affect pension plans both north and south of the border:
From the posters on here the Nats are hoping the NEETs on the housing estates neither know nor care about that and turn out in their droves to vote for Argentina 78.
I've been compiling a list of Twitter links for GE2015 candidates but maybe it would also be a good idea to do the same thing with email addresses and webpages.
I see the 'near perfect' one is presiding over a larger current account deficit than achieved during the Lawson Boom and Barber Boom.
At least Lawson and Barber managed booms and not a few years of soaring government debt and falling productivity.
It should be noted that a year after the current account deficits peaked under Lawson and Barber the economy went into recession.
And yet all the official bodies now assume the UK is going to have endless years of steady growth.
Still perhaps things are 'different this time' and the UK can permanently live beyond its means in a globalised world economy where our competitors are willing to work harder for less money and under fewer restrictions.
I save the BLUE ON BLUE INCOMING generally for the night shift, it passes the night away until we get to the next non-crossover poll. Then Basil takes over.
I see the 'near perfect' one is presiding over a larger current account deficit than achieved during the Lawson Boom and Barber Boom.
At least Lawson and Barber managed booms and not a few years of soaring government debt and falling productivity.
It should be noted that a year after the current account deficits peaked under Lawson and Barber the economy went into recession.
And yet all the official bodies now assume the UK is going to have endless years of steady growth.
Still perhaps things are 'different this time' and the UK can permanently live beyond its means in a globalised world economy where our competitors are willing to work harder for less money and under fewer restrictions.
St. George has adopted his management practice from NHS GP surgeries, ar.
It beggars belief that the SNP didn't think about all these issues in advance.
Something else the SNP has not thought through - or filed under "wishful thinking" - and I suspect this will affect pension plans both north and south of the border:
What do you numpties not understand, The SNP are well aware have always been well aware and have written about it in the white paper. Nobody knows what if any effect this will have. Bigger worry for you numpties is the black hole in the UK pension funds. Some London based fannies scaremongering again is par for the course. Thick does not come into it.
Chart: who should feature in the 2015 TV debates according to @YouGov. 49% say Cameron, Miliband, Farage and Clegg pic.twitter.com/52tS3i9IaM
It's pretty obvious that people polling in double figures should be included in the debates. After Cameron ducked out of the EU debates, if he tries to avoid debating Farage again it will be pretty clear he's running scared. It's pretty cowardly really: if he can't stand up to Farage, how is supposed to go toe-to-toe with foreign leaders on the world stage?
It beggars belief that the SNP didn't think about all these issues in advance.
Something else the SNP has not thought through - or filed under "wishful thinking" - and I suspect this will affect pension plans both north and south of the border:
From the posters on here the Nats are hoping the NEETs on the housing estates neither know nor care about that and turn out in their droves to vote for Argentina 78.
Thanks to the UK most people do not have a pension so it is of little concern to them or the NEET's. Bigger concern should be in the rump given the black hole in the pension funds is mostly an English problem. Also given the fannies on here claim that we will not be in EU then it will be no problem whatsoever.
The other part of the answer is to provide some work experience, which is where the jobs guarantee comes in.
You realise you can't just mandate reality, right? How, practically, is the jobs guarantee going to work? It's this sort of bollocks that shows Labour are all about electoral pitches rather than sound economics. The ridiculous energy cap is just another one. You can't just force the world to be the way you want it to be. You have to explain clearly what you'd do, how you'd do it, how much it will cost, and how you would counter the side effects.
Given that the opening paragraph of that article is demonstrably not made out by the rest of the story (no financial group has "rallied together to support the country breaking away from the UK" - five individuals have written a letter), I'll stick with the London bubble opinion, thank you very much.
Chart: who should feature in the 2015 TV debates according to @YouGov. 49% say Cameron, Miliband, Farage and Clegg pic.twitter.com/52tS3i9IaM
It's pretty obvious that people polling in double figures should be included in the debates. After Cameron ducked out of the EU debates, if he tries to avoid debating Farage again it will be pretty clear he's running scared. It's pretty cowardly really: if he can't stand up to Farage, how is supposed to go toe-to-toe with foreign leaders on the world stage?
TBF he could win a resounding victory against Farage and still come out worse off, thanks to the dynamics of FPTP elections.
The other part of the answer is to provide some work experience, which is where the jobs guarantee comes in.
You realise you can't just mandate reality, right? How, practically, is the jobs guarantee going to work? It's this sort of bollocks that shows Labour are all about electoral pitches rather than sound economics. The ridiculous energy cap is just another one. You can't just force the world to be the way you want it to be. You have to explain clearly what you'd do, how you'd do it, how much it will cost, and how you would counter the side effects.
Given that the opening paragraph of that article is demonstrably not made out by the rest of the story (no financial group has "rallied together to support the country breaking away from the UK" - five individuals have written a letter), I'll stick with the London bubble opinion, thank you very much.
Of the five individuals, how many have retired to the 19th hole ? Lollipop for the first correct answer.
Speaking of male, pale and stale golfers - has anyone asked the R+A for their opinion ? Troon, Muirfield, the old course, Carnoustie etc will miss out on the BRITISH open after Indy - perhaps some Welsh and Ulster courses may benefit from that of course.
Ah "No true Scot....." Haven't heard that one before!
It's funny. A London based Scot's opinion counts for nothing, unlike that of a Pretendy Church Minister in Somerset or one who favours Sweden over his 'home' country.
Chart: who should feature in the 2015 TV debates according to @YouGov. 49% say Cameron, Miliband, Farage and Clegg pic.twitter.com/52tS3i9IaM
It's pretty obvious that people polling in double figures should be included in the debates. After Cameron ducked out of the EU debates, if he tries to avoid debating Farage again it will be pretty clear he's running scared. It's pretty cowardly really: if he can't stand up to Farage, how is supposed to go toe-to-toe with foreign leaders on the world stage?
I honestly don't think a four-way debate would work well. Each representative would get less time, and it may be harder to follow, especially on the radio (I had problems with the last debate in mistaking Ferrari and Farage's voices at times).
ISTR there were four-way debates in Scotland and Wales in 2010: how well did they work out for the unaligned viewer?
Ah "No true Scot....." Haven't heard that one before!
It's funny. A London based Scot's opinion counts for nothing, unlike that of a Pretendy Church Minister in Somerset or one who favours Sweden over his 'home' country.
Has the wings over Somerset guy ever denied the quotes attributed to him about 9/11 or Hillsboro ?
However you need to be careful about such anecdotes when you are passionate about something. I can imagine friends of mine thinking: "God, I'll say I'm in favour of HS2 just to shut him up!"
Good heavens! Never crossed my mind. Well, almost never. Well, sometimes...
On plumbers, without being a free market zealot, if isam's friends move upmarket and make more money and a Polish plumber takes the lower-end work and earns more money than at home, perhaps sending some home which in turns boosts the Polish economy - well, that's the way the market is supposed to work and everyone involved as well as both countries is better off as a result. The alternative, that they doggedly stick to replacing fuses and the Poles get turned back at the border, isn't really in anyone's interest, with the exception of anyone who just doesn't like seeing foreigners in Britain.
The snag is if isam's friends don't have an upmarket to move to and aren't able to get decent training to help them. They then have a very understandable grumble.
Of course, ISam's friends can just move upmarket! How foolish of me! Come to think of it, that's a brilliant solution to our unemployment and benefit bill problems. They should all just get high skilled, high paying jobs!
Gordon Bennett, Nick, you sounded just like a modern day Guizot there.
I was brought up by a millionaire family. I spent my early years burning tramps and pissing on the homeless. Daddy pumped millions into the Tory Party and I was taught to look down on the oiks below. Mummy made cakes for the local Tory club and we always entertined the local gentry in our grounds. In fact we used to call the "workers" the "the underlings". I was always taught Tory =Good Labour=Dirty.Anyway, at my fee paying school I asked the headmaster why should we get all the power due to me being lucky that I spouted out of my fathers rather rich totem. He said "any more of that and I will get you beasted". It was the final straw. I haven't voted Tory since.
See, you're not a proper Tory.
I get a real kick out of playing chess with the homeless and tramps as chess pieces.
You are just a wet....real Tories burn them.
Wrong, 'pouter.
TSE is providing a jobs guarantee for the long term employed.
Perhaps you misunderstood what he meant by pawn?
No yellow boxes Mr Pole ?
This morning's grim economic reading seems to be passing without comment.
Mr. Brooke
Nothing grim about the Index of Services for January 2014, the leading bulletin published by the ONS this morning. It shows that the UK economy is continuing to grow - across all sectors - at the rates of the last three quarters of 2013. The OBR had been predicting a fall in growth rates to around 0.5% per quarter not month in 2014.
Some talk about the savings ratio dropping from 5.6% to 5% . The fear is that household piggy banks are being emptied too quickly and that this will prevent the growth rate being sustained at current levels. The counter (and more persuasive) argument is that business investment, productivity and real wages are growing sufficiently quickly (i.e. moving up even from a negative start) to offset the impact of lower household consumption. Also the fiscal measures in the budget, mainly the personal allowance increases, will keep spending steady as growth slowly rebalances.
I guess your concern is the current balance. This is always a lagging indicator and there are no surprises here. Indeed current performance is better than forecast by the OBR. The weak links are falling oil and gas exports and lower earnings from investments by British companies overseas, principally in the Eurozone countries which are continuing to underperform our own.
So no yellow boxes today. Social satire far more fun.
Ah "No true Scot....." Haven't heard that one before!
It's funny. A London based Scot's opinion counts for nothing, unlike that of a Pretendy Church Minister in Somerset or one who favours Sweden over his 'home' country.
Has the wings over Somerset guy ever denied his comments about 9/11 ?
What were they?
Incidentally, there are some intriguing articles on the web about his fundraising. Most curious.
I was brought up by a millionaire family. I spent my early years burning tramps and pissing on the homeless. Daddy pumped millions into the Tory Party and I was taught to look down on the oiks below. Mummy made cakes for the local Tory club and we always entertined the local gentry in our grounds. In fact we used to call the "workers" the "the underlings". I was always taught Tory =Good Labour=Dirty.Anyway, at my fee paying school I asked the headmaster why should we get all the power due to me being lucky that I spouted out of my fathers rather rich totem. He said "any more of that and I will get you beasted". It was the final straw. I haven't voted Tory since.
See, you're not a proper Tory.
I get a real kick out of playing chess with the homeless and tramps as chess pieces.
You are just a wet....real Tories burn them.
Wrong, 'pouter.
TSE is providing a jobs guarantee for the long term employed.
Perhaps you misunderstood what he meant by pawn?
No yellow boxes Mr Pole ?
This morning's grim economic reading seems to be passing without comment.
Mr. Brooke
Nothing grim about the Index of Services for January 2014, the leading bulletin published by the ONS this morning. It shows that the UK economy is continuing to grow - across all sectors - at the rates of the last three quarters of 2013. The OBR had been predicting a fall in growth rates to around 0.5% per quarter not month in 2014.
Some talk about the savings ratio dropping from 5.6% to 5% . The fear is that household piggy banks are being emptied too quickly and that this will prevent the growth rate being sustained at current levels. The counter (and more persuasive) argument is that business investment, productivity and real wages are growing sufficiently quickly (i.e. moving up even from a negative start) to offset the impact of lower household consumption. Also the fiscal measures in the budget, mainly the personal allowance increases, will keep spending steady as growth slowly rebalances.
I guess your concern is the current balance. This is always a lagging indicator and there are no surprises here. Indeed current performance is better than forecast by the OBR. The weak links are falling oil and gas exports and lower earnings from investments by British companies overseas, principally in the Eurozone countries which are continuing to underperform our own.
So no yellow boxes today. Social satire far more fun.
The other part of the answer is to provide some work experience, which is where the jobs guarantee comes in.
You realise you can't just mandate reality, right? How, practically, is the jobs guarantee going to work? It's this sort of bollocks that shows Labour are all about electoral pitches rather than sound economics. The ridiculous energy cap is just another one. You can't just force the world to be the way you want it to be. You have to explain clearly what you'd do, how you'd do it, how much it will cost, and how you would counter the side effects.
Spot on, sir.
Labour is all about positioning for the 35% of votes it needs for power; it is nothing about governing for the 100%, taking the hard decisions that will ultimately benefit the great bulk of the population.
Ah "No true Scot....." Haven't heard that one before!
It's funny. A London based Scot's opinion counts for nothing, unlike that of a Pretendy Church Minister in Somerset or one who favours Sweden over his 'home' country.
Has the wings over Somerset guy ever denied his comments about 9/11 ?
What were they?
Incidentally, there are some intriguing articles on the web about his fundraising. Most curious.
The other part of the answer is to provide some work experience, which is where the jobs guarantee comes in.
You realise you can't just mandate reality, right? How, practically, is the jobs guarantee going to work? It's this sort of bollocks that shows Labour are all about electoral pitches rather than sound economics. The ridiculous energy cap is just another one. You can't just force the world to be the way you want it to be. You have to explain clearly what you'd do, how you'd do it, how much it will cost, and how you would counter the side effects.
Spot on, sir.
Labour is all about positioning for the 35% of votes it needs for power; it is nothing about governing for the 100%, taking the hard decisions that will ultimately benefit the great bulk of the population.
It won't even be governing for the 35%. The energy cap will just mean the energy companies need to abandon all the energy efficiency measures which would have paid dividends in the future, whether or not you believe in global warming. It also means investors would be insane to invest in new energy sources. As for the jobs guarantee, let's just wait to see what a cock-up that will be. Either they won't achieve it, or they'll blow out the deficit massively to afford it.
I was brought up by a millionaire family. I spent my early years burning tramps and pissing on the homeless. Daddy pumped millions into the Tory Party and I was taught to look down on the oiks below. Mummy made cakes for the local Tory club and we always entertined the local gentry in our grounds. In fact we used to call the "workers" the "the underlings". I was always taught Tory =Good Labour=Dirty.Anyway, at my fee paying school I asked the headmaster why should we get all the power due to me being lucky that I spouted out of my fathers rather rich totem. He said "any more of that and I will get you beasted". It was the final straw. I haven't voted Tory since.
See, you're not a proper Tory.
I get a real kick out of playing chess with the homeless and tramps as chess pieces.
You are just a wet....real Tories burn them.
Wrong, 'pouter.
TSE is providing a jobs guarantee for the long term employed.
Perhaps you misunderstood what he meant by pawn?
No yellow boxes Mr Pole ?
This morning's grim economic reading seems to be passing without comment.
Mr. Brooke
Nothing grim about the Index of Services for January 2014, the leading bulletin published by the ONS this morning. It shows that the UK economy is continuing to grow - across all sectors - at the rates of the last three quarters of 2013. The OBR had been predicting a fall in growth rates to around 0.5% per quarter not month in 2014.
Some talk about the savings ratio dropping from 5.6% to 5% . The fear is that household piggy banks are being emptied too quickly and that this will prevent the growth rate being sustained at current levels. The counter (and more persuasive) argument is that business investment, productivity and real wages are growing sufficiently quickly (i.e. moving up even from a negative start) to offset the impact of lower household consumption. Also the fiscal measures in the budget, mainly the personal allowance increases, will keep spending steady as growth slowly rebalances.
I guess your concern is the current balance. This is always a lagging indicator and there are no surprises here. Indeed current performance is better than forecast by the OBR. The weak links are falling oil and gas exports and lower earnings from investments by British companies overseas, principally in the Eurozone countries which are continuing to underperform our own.
So no yellow boxes today. Social satire far more fun.
Chart: who should feature in the 2015 TV debates according to @YouGov. 49% say Cameron, Miliband, Farage and Clegg pic.twitter.com/52tS3i9IaM
It's pretty obvious that people polling in double figures should be included in the debates. After Cameron ducked out of the EU debates, if he tries to avoid debating Farage again it will be pretty clear he's running scared. It's pretty cowardly really: if he can't stand up to Farage, how is supposed to go toe-to-toe with foreign leaders on the world stage?
I honestly don't think a four-way debate would work well. Each representative would get less time, and it may be harder to follow, especially on the radio (I had problems with the last debate in mistaking Ferrari and Farage's voices at times).
ISTR there were four-way debates in Scotland and Wales in 2010: how well did they work out for the unaligned viewer?
They have four way debates in the US all the time in primary elections. They work far better, as you get a genuine range of views on each question. The ideal number of participants in a debate is about four or five. That's why they have that many in Question Time. I understand that supporters of the big two party want to prevent anyone hearing the alternatives, but you can't cut off the views of a third of the country these days. The rest of us are forced to pay for the licence fee just as you are, so it's only right we get our views represented. Particularly when there's such a stitch up on so many issues between the big two.
I was brought up by a millionaire family. I spent my early years burning tramps and pissing on the homeless. Daddy pumped millions into the Tory Party and I was taught to look down on the oiks below. Mummy made cakes for the local Tory club and we always entertined the local gentry in our grounds. In fact we used to call the "workers" the "the underlings". I was always taught Tory =Good Labour=Dirty.Anyway, at my fee paying school I asked the headmaster why should we get all the power due to me being lucky that I spouted out of my fathers rather rich totem. He said "any more of that and I will get you beasted". It was the final straw. I haven't voted Tory since.
See, you're not a proper Tory.
I get a real kick out of playing chess with the homeless and tramps as chess pieces.
You are just a wet....real Tories burn them.
Wrong, 'pouter.
TSE is providing a jobs guarantee for the long term employed.
Perhaps you misunderstood what he meant by pawn?
No yellow boxes Mr Pole ?
This morning's grim economic reading seems to be passing without comment.
Mr. Brooke
Nothing grim about the Index of Services for January 2014, the leading bulletin published by the ONS this morning. It shows that the UK economy is continuing to grow - across all sectors - at the rates of the last three quarters of 2013. The OBR had been predicting a fall in growth rates to around 0.5% per quarter not month in 2014.
Some talk about the savings ratio dropping from 5.6% to 5% . The fear is that household piggy banks are being emptied too quickly and that this will prevent the growth rate being sustained at current levels. The counter (and more persuasive) argument is that business investment, productivity and real wages are growing sufficiently quickly (i.e. moving up even from a negative start) to offset the impact of lower household consumption. Also the fiscal measures in the budget, mainly the personal allowance increases, will keep spending steady as growth slowly rebalances.
I guess your concern is the current balance. This is always a lagging indicator and there are no surprises here. Indeed current performance is better than forecast by the OBR. The weak links are falling oil and gas exports and lower earnings from investments by British companies overseas, principally in the Eurozone countries which are continuing to underperform our own.
So no yellow boxes today. Social satire far more fun.
“Stampede as Kate Bush tickets sell out in 15 minutes”
Not bragging or anything but did I ever mention that I saw Kate Bush on stage in London four nights on the trot back in in 1979 - was invited back stage to meet her and went to the end of tour party with Steve Harley of ‘Cockney Rebel’ fame ?
Presumably whether or not Nigel Farage appears in the debates at the general election is going to be greatly influenced by whether or not OFCOM deem UKIP to be a major party for the purpose of that election. Since that seems unlikely, I anticipate that he won't appear.
Our host made this point indirectly about a month ago as a thread header.
Something tells me that the "Chicken Dave" line will run all the way to the election if he continues to rule out a TV debate that includes Farage.
Whilst it is absolutely correct for Ukip to participate in Euro debates with their significant presence in the European Parliament the same cannot be said of Westminster.
Farage should be excluded from the GE debates. He has no MP's unlike the Green Party and Respect. That may change but until it does Farage is not a player for GE debates.
Ah "No true Scot....." Haven't heard that one before!
It's funny. A London based Scot's opinion counts for nothing, unlike that of a Pretendy Church Minister in Somerset or one who favours Sweden over his 'home' country.
Has the wings over Somerset guy ever denied his comments about 9/11 ?
What were they?
Incidentally, there are some intriguing articles on the web about his fundraising. Most curious.
“Stampede as Kate Bush tickets sell out in 15 minutes”
Not bragging or anything but did I ever mention that I saw Kate Bush on stage in London four nights on the trot back in in 1979 - was invited back stage to meet her and went to the end of tour party with Steve Harley of ‘Cockney Rebel’ fame ?
“Stampede as Kate Bush tickets sell out in 15 minutes”
Not bragging or anything but did I ever mention that I saw Kate Bush on stage in London four nights on the trot back in in 1979 - was invited back stage to meet her and went to the end of tour party with Steve Harley of ‘Cockney Rebel’ fame ?
Chart: who should feature in the 2015 TV debates according to @YouGov. 49% say Cameron, Miliband, Farage and Clegg pic.twitter.com/52tS3i9IaM
It's pretty obvious that people polling in double figures should be included in the debates. After Cameron ducked out of the EU debates, if he tries to avoid debating Farage again it will be pretty clear he's running scared. It's pretty cowardly really: if he can't stand up to Farage, how is supposed to go toe-to-toe with foreign leaders on the world stage?
I honestly don't think a four-way debate would work well. Each representative would get less time, and it may be harder to follow, especially on the radio (I had problems with the last debate in mistaking Ferrari and Farage's voices at times).
ISTR there were four-way debates in Scotland and Wales in 2010: how well did they work out for the unaligned viewer?
They have four way debates in the US all the time in primary elections. They work far better, as you get a genuine range of views on each question. The ideal number of participants in a debate is about four or five. That's why they have that many in Question Time. I understand that supporters of the big two party want to prevent anyone hearing the alternatives, but you can't cut off the views of a third of the country these days. The rest of us are forced to pay for the licence fee just as you are, so it's only right we get our views represented. Particularly when there's such a stitch up on so many issues between the big two.
I asked a genuine question, and thanks for your answer.
It's a shame you spoilt it with the rest of the post.
Whilst it is absolutely correct for Ukip to participate in Euro debates with their significant presence in the European Parliament the same cannot be said of Westminster.
Farage should be excluded from the GE debates. He has no MP's unlike the Green Party and Respect. That may change but until it does Farage is not a player for GE debates.
If UKIP were polling 50% with ICM, would it be right to exclude them? The reality is that the rules are an incumbents' charter, and that is why supporters of the incumbent parties in the House of Commons approve so strongly of them.
Whilst it is absolutely correct for Ukip to participate in Euro debates with their significant presence in the European Parliament the same cannot be said of Westminster.
Farage should be excluded from the GE debates. He has no MP's unlike the Green Party and Respect. That may change but until it does Farage is not a player for GE debates.
If UKIP were polling 50% with ICM, would it be right to exclude them? The reality is that the rules are an incumbents' charter, and that is why supporters of the incumbent parties in the House of Commons approve so strongly of them.
If Farage were polling 50% with ICM, he wouldn't care about the debates.
It being a Friday afternoon I decided to take a break from trying to untangle Dr. Palmer's logic (it will not be a good thing for young Brits to get qualifications in trades but a six month make- work placement will be much better for their long term prospects) and look at the PB Diplomacy Games.
The death match is still in the initial negotiations phase, but PB2014 MK2 has just completed the Spring 1903 moves. I have to ask, what the feck is going on there, fellows? OK, Austria's position looks terminal and Russia seems to be entering the coughing up blood phase, but the rest looks like a furball. Any of the players want to provide a commentary as to what they think is going on?
This was flashed up and I didn't know about Seaford.
Robert Kimbell @RedHotSquirrel 16m East ward by-election result for #Seaford Town Council: #UKIP 42.06%, LDEM 24.98%, CON 24.32%, LAB 8.65%. UKIP gain 2 seats from CON.
“Stampede as Kate Bush tickets sell out in 15 minutes”
Not bragging or anything but did I ever mention that I saw Kate Bush on stage in London four nights on the trot back in in 1979 - was invited back stage to meet her and went to the end of tour party with Steve Harley of ‘Cockney Rebel’ fame ?
“Stampede as Kate Bush tickets sell out in 15 minutes”
Not bragging or anything but did I ever mention that I saw Kate Bush on stage in London four nights on the trot back in in 1979 - was invited back stage to meet her and went to the end of tour party with Steve Harley of ‘Cockney Rebel’ fame ?
Comments
This morning's grim economic reading seems to be passing without comment.
If we ran out of homeless we evicted a few dozen tenants.
Mind you humour is subjective, and I am more than happy to laugh at the same joke for a long while. For instance I was close to tears when I discovered @big_ben_clock on twitter last night
#budget2014 going down well in #Ealing, @George_Osborne pic.twitter.com/uFcEcQBEM2
49% Cameron, Clegg, Farage, Miliband
23% Cameron, Clegg, Miliband
14% Cameron vs Miliband
Sebastian Payne @SebastianEPayne 53m
Chart: who should feature in the 2015 TV debates according to @YouGov. 49% say Cameron, Miliband, Farage and Clegg pic.twitter.com/52tS3i9IaM
http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/scottish-independence-eu-deals-pensions-blow-1-3356554
This would be an absolutely appalling consequence, and in no way could I encourage Scots to vote for independence on the back of that.
Ages ago when Labour was a lot more left-wing than now, there was a proposal for a training levy. All companies over a certain size would be asked to either (a) offer training courses leading to a qualification for their own staff and a reasonable number of outsiders who would pay them for the training or (b) pay a levy to enable their staff to take up training at one of the companies under (a). I thought it was a good idea at the time, and still do, though as usual there would be practical issues. It would provide a good variety of courses and would prevent companies with no interest in training their people from free-riding off the ones that do.
The other part of the answer is to provide some work experience, which is where the jobs guarantee comes in.
http://bit.ly/Xb3122
"I was fortunate to have had a happy and comfortable childhood. We were taught from an early age not to take money and privilege for granted."
"My father was a successful undertaker in the city. Dad's business, for example, helped the local council provide free services to families of the poor and needy. Mum was also a baker, but only from home and the net profits she made were always gift aided to charity."
"Dad and Mum were committed to the community."
"Dad became a Labour councillor shortly before getting planning permission to convert the old deer park into a mixed industrial and residential housing estate."
"If I and my sister hadn't been diagnosed at an early age with special needs, we would almost certainly have been sent to the local comprehensive. Being at a boarding school was very difficult as it meant being away from home for two thirds of the year. The teachers were very odd but were always there to provide a helpful hand. The friends I made at school have remained with me throughout my life and I feel I can always call on them for help in difficult or challenging times."
"Dad left Labour after his application to convert the stables into affordable housing was rejected by the planning committee."
"It was the final straw. The whole family have voted Tory since and have never looked back."
I'm shunned by other Labour MPs because I don't have a regional accent, says one of Miliband's rising stars
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2591421/Ive-shunned-Labour-MPs-I-dont-regional-accent-says-one-Milibands-rising-stars.html
BONG
At least Lawson and Barber managed booms and not a few years of soaring government debt and falling productivity.
It should be noted that a year after the current account deficits peaked under Lawson and Barber the economy went into recession.
And yet all the official bodies now assume the UK is going to have endless years of steady growth.
Still perhaps things are 'different this time' and the UK can permanently live beyond its means in a globalised world economy where our competitors are willing to work harder for less money and under fewer restrictions.
Can see where Gayle gets his power from - MAHOOSIVE shoulders.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/scottish-independence-influential-scot-financiers-rally-uk-exit-1442216
One problem at a time.
Also given the fannies on here claim that we will not be in EU then it will be no problem whatsoever.
Very well put and so very true.
Speaking of male, pale and stale golfers - has anyone asked the R+A for their opinion ? Troon, Muirfield, the old course, Carnoustie etc will miss out on the BRITISH open after Indy - perhaps some Welsh and Ulster courses may benefit from that of course.
ISTR there were four-way debates in Scotland and Wales in 2010: how well did they work out for the unaligned viewer?
Gordon Bennett, Nick, you sounded just like a modern day Guizot there.
Nothing grim about the Index of Services for January 2014, the leading bulletin published by the ONS this morning. It shows that the UK economy is continuing to grow - across all sectors - at the rates of the last three quarters of 2013. The OBR had been predicting a fall in growth rates to around 0.5% per quarter not month in 2014.
Some talk about the savings ratio dropping from 5.6% to 5% . The fear is that household piggy banks are being emptied too quickly and that this will prevent the growth rate being sustained at current levels. The counter (and more persuasive) argument is that business investment, productivity and real wages are growing sufficiently quickly (i.e. moving up even from a negative start) to offset the impact of lower household consumption. Also the fiscal measures in the budget, mainly the personal allowance increases, will keep spending steady as growth slowly rebalances.
I guess your concern is the current balance. This is always a lagging indicator and there are no surprises here. Indeed current performance is better than forecast by the OBR. The weak links are falling oil and gas exports and lower earnings from investments by British companies overseas, principally in the Eurozone countries which are continuing to underperform our own.
So no yellow boxes today. Social satire far more fun.
Incidentally, there are some intriguing articles on the web about his fundraising. Most curious.
Labour is all about positioning for the 35% of votes it needs for power; it is nothing about governing for the 100%, taking the hard decisions that will ultimately benefit the great bulk of the population.
Not bragging or anything but did I ever mention that I saw Kate Bush on stage in London four nights on the trot back in in 1979 - was invited back stage to meet her and went to the end of tour party with Steve Harley of ‘Cockney Rebel’ fame ?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/10728959/Stampede-as-Kate-Bush-tickets-sell-out-in-15-minutes.html
Our host made this point indirectly about a month ago as a thread header.
Farage should be excluded from the GE debates. He has no MP's unlike the Green Party and Respect. That may change but until it does Farage is not a player for GE debates.
Actually, I don't. I would have been six at the time, so it would probably have been wasted on me.
I've also got the fact that I got my tickets two days earlier than the plebs, so didn't have to worry about that awful fifteen minute window. ;-)
Now, will we able to go ...
It's a shame you spoilt it with the rest of the post.
The death match is still in the initial negotiations phase, but PB2014 MK2 has just completed the Spring 1903 moves. I have to ask, what the feck is going on there, fellows? OK, Austria's position looks terminal and Russia seems to be entering the coughing up blood phase, but the rest looks like a furball. Any of the players want to provide a commentary as to what they think is going on?
Robert Kimbell @RedHotSquirrel 16m
East ward by-election result for #Seaford Town Council: #UKIP 42.06%, LDEM 24.98%, CON 24.32%, LAB 8.65%. UKIP gain 2 seats from CON.